The smallish joint is strong in its Japanese fare

What’s worst than a nagging craving?

Multiple cravings, we tell ya’; all of which possess a personality of their own, creeping ever so deviously from the back of the throat to the tip of the tongue.

For contradicting cravings that oscillate from cuisine to cuisine, we can only, but start praying for journey mercies. However, if cravings fall under the gastronomic realm of Japanese, Ten Ten Tempura may be a refuge of culinary solace for you.

Tucked away in the basement one of Raffles City Shopping Centre, the massive space of Din Tai Fung overshadows Ten Ten Tempura by ensnaring undecided patrons with the full display of its iconic xiao long bao making process. Ah, the highly-competitive nature of the F&B business that the mere 36-seater Japanese restaurant may soon fall prey to.

Fortunately, we bypassed the global dim sum restaurant and eased into the hidden rustic joint of wooden everything – tables, chair, flooring, and ceiling – because remember, we were having massive cravings for Japanese food.

While its name may suggest otherwise, Ten Ten Tempura’s offerings can be categorised into three sections: Tendon, Ramen and Unagi.

Unatendon ($19.80)

We say zero in on the restaurant’s tendon selection, specifically the Premium King Prawn Tendon($19.80) and the Unatendon ($19.80). With soft Hokkaido rice as the base, the former boasts massive king prawns fried tempura style and their equally supersized heads, detached from their bodies and also fried till crispy. For a more well-rounded tendon, the Unatendon is a fitting option as it comprises various tempuras of a single prawn, bacon, shitake mushroom, seaweed, and pumpkin, alongside the cherry-on-top being the charcoal-grilled unagi. Skip the option of truffle rice for an added dollar as the truffle element was pretty non-existent in ours.

Spicy Roasted Miso Ramen ($13.80)

For noodleheads, the ramens served at the restaurant are pretty solid, as exemplified by the Ebi Miso Ramen ($16.80) and the Spicy Roasted Miso Ramen ($13.80). Simmered with a makeup of 10 ingredients, including chicken bones and Japanese leek, for six hours, broths are deliciously rich and aromatic, while the noodles are ‘Q’ enough for hearty slurping. A word of caution for the spicy offering – while distinctly more flavourful, the ramen packs a fiery punch!

Unagi purists can also look to the Unajyu ($38), served on rice, for their fill on tender eels. The hefty price tag may stem from the unagi’s origins of Kagoshima, where eels are said to be really tender and devoid of the supposed funky odour.

All in all, Ten Ten Tempura is worthy of a shot if you’re in the area and xiao long baos have run their course. Plus the restaurant’s Head Chef Mamoru Kanaya had culinary endavours in the likes of Ramen Champion and Menya Takeichi, so we’re pretty sure you’ll be well taken care of.